


Table Stakes

by back2beesness



Series: Winning Hand [4]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, a lot of found family and soft fox stuff, and neil and kevin, i don't know what else i expected, i really am a softie at heart for someone who used to read tons of angst, i talk about matt and neil's friendship too much, i was in withdrawal from the first three parts and i had to, oops it got soft, since they aren't given the friendship they deserve in the books, softer au, this is all andreil i don't make the rules, what can i say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25298380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/back2beesness/pseuds/back2beesness
Summary: Neil and Kevin go on "vacation" together. Andrew comes back from rehab and Neil explains some things, while sending unintentionally suggestive text messages that send Andrew into a gay panic. Also showcases some of Neil's poor flirting skills. So pretty much just a softer version of canon.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: Winning Hand [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822588
Comments: 8
Kudos: 153





	Table Stakes

**Author's Note:**

> Final part! Whew, I have to say I wrote this in one sitting. Also, these keep getting longer, so sorry. The fluff just had to go somewhere. Plus I've been dying at the lack of andreil in this series so I made up for it, slightly. Enjoy.

Andrew was due back three days after Neil and Kevin landed in South Carolina. Neil had spent most of his break in and out of meetings with his Uncle and his men. Stuart had welcomed him back with open arms, although he knew it had to do entirely with the amount of money Neil was about to make him as a go-between with the Moriyamas. His mother may have been stubborn, but he knew that if going to Stuart was a better option than their international escapades, she would have done it in a second. She died to keep Neil alive, and he knew that she wouldn’t have kept help away from him if there wasn’t a cost not worth paying. Looking back, his mother’s goal was unrealistic; being completely free from the forces at play in his life had never been an option for Neil. Making a deal with the Devil had always been in his future, or at least in any future where he survived. But Mary never had something worth anything to the Moriyamas, and that was where Neil was different. Ironically, he’d made himself into something valuable to them all on his own. 

It had been two and a half weeks of wearing an uncomfortable mask, playing the son of a mobster as best he could while trying to act like he had any kind of control over what happened. In the end, it was mostly just a lot of going back and forth between his Uncle and a designated Moriyama representative. He had a hand in both sides, as a Hatford himself and also property of the Moriyamas, he was the closest they could get to a neutral player for negotiations. While he spent hours every day in meetings, Kevin mostly worked out at the hotel gym, lounged around in the provided suite, and waited for Neil to be done so he could drag them to some old church or local monument. It had been years since Neil was in London, and he had to say he didn’t remember much of his first trip, so it was mostly new to Neil as well. Nicky had texted demanding a photo of them in front of at least three big tourist attractions, so Kevin had taken him to the London Eye, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace, which Kevin had a weird fixation with. He despised the idea of modern royals, but was fascinated by the history of the monarchy and spent more than an hour telling Neil about the Glorious Revolution and James II, which Neil mostly tuned out. Having spent weird variants of time in different countries’ education systems, his history knowledge was eclectic at best. He’d found most places liked to emphasize their own perspectives and achievements in history, and since he’d never really stayed anywhere long enough to move onto more broad history courses, he mostly knew weirdly specific information about certain countries during certain periods. He’d had a year in France where they had only studied from the 18th century through the 19th century of French history. While he’d gotten some modern history in Millport, he’d missed most of ancient history and pretty much everything from the Magna Carta to the American Revolution, which made most of what Kevin had to say incredibly uninteresting to him.

Nicky had been bombarding them with pictures of himself alongside demands for photos in return, mostly of him and Erik with the occasional shot of Aaron in the background. They showed them doing random things on their Germany trip, like visiting beer gardens and the Weihnachtsmarkt, bundled in sweaters and scarves. Neil knew that Katelyn was there somewhere, but it seemed like Nicky was making sure not to send around any photos with her in it, likely at Aaron’s behest so that no one could show Andrew when he got back that Aaron hadn’t sold his ticket, and had gifted it to his girlfriend instead. Neil didn’t really want to get involved with that fight yet, so he just saved the best of Nicky’s drunken selfies and photos of the architecture to his new phone, which Allison had sworn was just an early Christmas present on account of the fact that he’d be so far away for the holidays. Her exact words had something to do with Neil not being able to lie about his battery life and maybe taking some half-decent pictures, but he had a sneaking feeling that she’d be giving him something else when they got back, passing it off as his “real” present, or maybe a New Year’s gift. 

Allison had a tendency to give Neil things for fake holidays, since he hadn’t really celebrated enough holidays as a kid to be entirely sure what was real and what was fake. She’d huff something about All Saint’s Day or National Philanthropy Day and Neil would squint at her, trying to figure out whether she was lying. She’d claimed Guy Fawkes Day once, which was the only one Neil had really been able to shut down, since his mother had explained it to him as a child and he knew that it didn’t have a tradition of gift-giving associated with it. 

Altogether, the trip felt like a weird combination of a business trip and a family vacation, and although Neil couldn’t say he had a great deal of experience with either, he had more fun with Kevin on his few days off then he had expected. The only bad part was when Kevin had taken him out under the guise of doing another walking tour and had instead shoved Neil into a barber’s shop down the street. He hadn’t even blinked at the look of terror on Neil’s face, just gazed evenly back at him, telling Neil that his roots were so grown out, even he had noticed. He’d stood behind him while the stylist cut off what was left of the dark brown dye from Neil’s hair, leaving him with a shorter cut that showed his natural auburn color. It had taken him a few minutes to look himself in the mirror, but with Kevin standing firmly behind him, it was hard to see his father’s face in the mirror. Kevin had still dragged him on a walking tour after that though.   
Neil eventually sent Nicky some hesitant selfies, which he’d had to embarrassingly practice taking himself when Kevin wasn’t around so he didn’t make a fool of himself the first time he tried it in public. Most of what he sent were shots of him, eyebrows raised, and a haughty looking Kevin behind him with some towering building or landmark sticking out in the background. He wasn’t entirely sure how well they came out, but Nicky responded with enough hearts and exclamation points that he assumed they weren’t too bad.

He’d done some of the same for the upperclassmen, mostly just photos of himself in front of their chosen tourist attractions and a few he’d caught of Kevin sleeping in a weird position or making a stupid face. The group chat had been buzzing with responses from Dan and Matt at Matt’s mom’s apartment as well as Allison and Renee at Renee’s mother’s house. Allison seemed to have chosen to go with Renee rather than suffer through another stilted family Christmas, which Matt and Dan had both applauded in the group chat. Something about “self-care” and “prioritizing yourself,” to which Allison had responded “@neil.” Neil wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he was too embarrassed to ask Kevin or Nicky, so he figured he’d check with Matt in private when they got home. They’d struck a bargain where Matt would explain anything Neil was ashamed of not knowing about without telling anyone, even Dan. It was one of the reasons he considered Matt his best friend; he didn’t judge him or patronize him when Neil didn’t know how to use emojis or how to order at Starbucks, he just quickly and simply explained what was going on and let Neil do what he would.

Of course, there had been radio silence from Andrew, which made sense since Neil knew he didn’t have access to his phone, but Neil still saved a couple of photos where Kevin was making a particularly funny face or rolling his eyes so hard it almost looked painful to give to Andrew later. He told himself it was to prove that he’d fulfilled his end of the bargain, that Kevin was being well looked after, but deep down that felt like somewhat of a lie. He’d been imagining what Andrew would look like when he saw them, maybe giving him a somewhat derisive snort or a small uptick of his brow in the way that Andrew did when he was trying not to react to something while sober.

Neil’s leg bounced the entire flight back home, waiting for news about his father. Kevin eventually shot him an irritated glare, placing a hand on Neil’s knee to stop him fidgeting. It wasn’t until the plane actually landed that he got a text message from an unknown number with just the words, “It is done.” There wasn’t anything else, no names or anything, and it wasn’t until the next morning that Neil was certain as to what it meant. It appeared in the newspapers even as far down as South Carolina that the infamous Butcher of Baltimore had been killed in an FBI raid. Neil sat on his bunk bed in shock for at least ten minutes. Matt walked in to find him catatonic and had gotten him to sit with him on the couch, an arm thrown around his shoulder, and some cartoons muted on the TV until Neil remembered how to breathe on his own. That night they’d had a group pizza and movie night, and Neil felt for the first time in a long time that things might just turn out alright.

There had been a fairly rambunctious reunion on campus between the upperclassmen once they all arrived. One of the benefits of being student-athletes was that they were allowed to move back in a little under a week early for practices, and they all took advantage of it, even Nicky and Aaron, who had essentially just been on a fun vacation. Something about the tower opening back up brought them all running back to their home base, no matter how fun their breaks had been. Neil had been quickly swept up in a massive bear hug from Matt, followed by a thorough check-up by Dan, who seemed to be examining him for missing limbs or bleeding wounds. He would’ve rolled his eyes if their blatant shows of affection didn’t make his chest ache so much. Allison had just given him a wink, while Renee had simply smiled, and asked him if he’d thought about her offer. He’d nodded, telling her he’d get back to her, but in truth, he was still considering it. Renee had texted him the day after Christmas saying that although she hadn’t gotten him a present yet, she had been planning on offering to teach him to spar with her in the New Year. It had been a long, heartfelt message where she explained that she had grown a great deal when she went from dreading violence to feeling well-prepared to deal with it should it come her way. Although it had made Neil’s stomach turn over, he knew that it was well-meant. He’d told her he needed more time, and he still did, although he considered it progress that he was even considering it. A month ago he would’ve told her no immediately, so that was something at least.

Nicky had greeted him by ruffling his hair and shoving a hastily wrapped box into his hands. “Merry late-Christmas! Don’t worry, I got stuff for everyone else too, but I thought you could use this, since it’s getting, like, crazy cold down here, and I know you’ve been wearing that ratty fleece for way longer than you should.”

Neil opened it in the middle of the hallway, since Nicky was looking at him expectantly, and he didn’t really have much in the way of luggage to unpack anyways. He unfolded the black wool coat from the cardboard box and gave Nicky a smile. He knew from talking with the upperclassmen that Nicky was usually one for gag gifts, obnoxious Christmas sweaters, or occasionally just really ridiculous socks, but it seemed like he’d read Neil pretty well and gotten him something real instead.

Nicky confirmed that suspicion when he smiled and added, “I thought you seemed like someone who was into more practical gifts. Plus, I’ll have plenty of time to get you dancing stuffed reindeer and light-up antlers once we’ve fully sorted out your whole wardrobe situation. Figure I’ve got to establish that I can give good gifts first before I start totally messing with you.”

Neil huffed a laugh. “Thanks, Nicky. I appreciate it, really.”

That left them with about a week to decompress and unpack their stuff before classes started, and Neil got another taste of what it was like to be Andrew as Kevin insisted on dragging at least Neil, if not more of the team, to pre-season practices. It was wearing even Neil’s patience for Exy a little thin, and he was glad, not for the first time, that he didn’t have to room with Kevin and listen to his exy talk all the time.

Two days later, Neil, Kevin, Aaron, and Nicky all piled into the Maserati to pick up Andrew. It was about an hour drive, most of which Aaron slept through while Nicky attempted to educate Neil on the music he’d missed during his time on the run, essentially playing them an insanely varied mixtape through the aux cord the entire drive. Kevin, for once, was remarkably quiet, possibly wary of seeing Andrew off his meds and possibly just tired given the early hour they’d all gotten up to make the drive. Neil couldn’t say he was particularly sorry for that, but he found Nicky’s low-level chatter in the background comforting until it faded off as they arrived in the parking lot. Aaron finally lifted his head off the window and blinked blearily around, staying quiet as he took in their surroundings. They exited the car en masse, Neil locking the doors behind them as he went. He had a fresh packet of cigarettes in his pocket and a cheap lighter that he knew Andrew would accept, regardless of how pissed he was, given how long it had been since he’d been able to smoke. Neil hoped it would at least do something to temper the rage Andrew was feeling towards the shit he had pulled at the banquet. 

Nicky signed Neil out, but it looked like they had been told to expect Neil, since the nurse stopping by the front desk gave him a nod, and told him it should be about five minutes. Nicky flipped through magazines while Kevin paced, and Aaron seemed to be doing his best at falling asleep in the waiting room. Neil just flicked the lighter in his hands on and off, staring at the door the nurse had left through.

There were windows in the swinging doors, but they were high enough up that there was no warning when Andrew came slamming through, leaving the doors ricocheting behind him. He didn’t even throw a glance towards them as he shouldered his way out the front door and out into the parking lot. Neil got up to follow him, Kevin already having headed out the door, while Nicky gave Aaron a light shove to wake him up, hurrying to catch up to Neil. 

Andrew was leaning against the driver’s door, and held a silent hand out as Neil approached the passenger’s side, into which Neil quickly tossed the keys. He also slid the lighter and pack of cigarettes over across the sunroof, which Andrew grabbed without looking at him.

At this point, the rest of them were also standing around the car, watching Andrew light up. Nicky gave Neil a quizzical look, but Neil just shrugged. They’d leave when Andrew was ready. Andrew glanced back briefly, gesturing with his cigarette for them to get in the car, which they did obediently, Kevin grumbling about being relegated to the back seat again. Neil opened his door but didn’t sit down, just leaned against the frame of the car, watching Andrew smoke.

It seemed Andrew wasn’t going to indulge this for long though. He slid an impassive look towards Neil, muttering, “Staring.”

“And?”

Andrew dropped his cigarette, grinding it into the pavement under his shoe. Only when he went to grab the handle of the car did Neil finally get in, and he watched as Andrew sat down. Clearly he’d realized that Neil had moved the seat, but in what Neil considered a surprisingly petty move, he seemingly refused to acknowledge it, just turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the parking lot, not looking back.

The hour drive was significantly less comfortable on the way back then it had been going out. Even Nicky seemed to have been forced into an uneasy silence by Andrew’s lack of engagement. The tension from the back seat fortunately only bothered Neil for a few minutes. With Andrew driving, he fell asleep about fifteen minutes into the drive and stayed that way until he felt someone shaking his arm. They were parked in the lot outside the Tower, and Kevin nodded towards the door, at which point Neil noticed he and Kevin were the only ones still in the car. The second they closed their car doors Neil heard the locks engage and saw the front door swing shut behind who he could only assume was Andrew and Aaron given that Nicky was standing on the steps waiting for them. Nicky gave him one last wave as they headed into their suite, leaving Neil feeling more alone then he had since he got back. He stood in the hallway for a minute before letting himself back into his and Matt’s room with his own set of keys, which he’d still been carrying. The Andrew’s keys were a phantom weight in his pocket, and he tried to put the thought out of his mind as he sat down next to Matt on the couch, who, based on his swearing and lack of greeting, seemed to be losing pretty badly at one of those first-person shooting games he played.

Matt groaned, collapsing back against the couch as his character finally died. He turned his head towards Neil, a smile growing on his face.

“Hey man, how’d you feel about going on mic for me?”

Neil frowned. “What’s that?”

He should’ve known something was wrong based on the look of absolute glee on Matt’s face.

Within a few minutes, Matt had him hooked up to his headset, which he quickly taught Neil how to turn on and off, and let him listen in to the chat going on in the game. Neil didn’t really know what he was supposed to say, not knowing the point of the game or any of its other terminologies, until he heard some teenage sounding dirtbag ragging on one of the few women on their team. Pretty soon he was just firing back and forth with whoever wanted to pull some bullshit on mic, every now and again adding a rare compliment Matt told him to direct at certain users and telling the team to try various tactics at Matt’s behest.

It was the most fun he’d had in a while. The movie nights were fun for group bonding but Neil had never been one for sitting quietly in the dark for an hour, and playing video games with Matt in the past had always felt embarrassing and a tad pointless, so this was a nice change of pace.

After a couple of hours, Matt got a text from Dan. He turned to Neil sheepishly.

“Sorry bud, would you mind if I went over to the girls’ room? Renee and Allison went out to get dinner together, so Dan has the room to herself and, uh…”

Neil just waved a hand. “Go, seriously. But, um, could you turn this off first, I have no idea how to do it and if you don’t shut it down I’ll just leave it on the home screen for hours.”

Matt chuckled. “No worries man. I’ll show you how sometime, it’s not too tricky, but there’s a lot of buttons involved, so maybe another time.”

After Matt left, Neil turned his phone over and over in his hands, debating whether he should text Andrew. He owed him the truth about his scars, and an explanation of, well, everything else. It took him about twenty minutes, but he finally sent Andrew a text that just said “Can we talk? My dorm’s empty right now.”

Contrary to the rest of the team’s belief, he wasn’t completely unaware as to how that text could sound to someone, but he knew Andrew just wanted some answers, and he’d know what Neil meant. Waiting for a response, Neil went and heated some water for a pot of tea. His mother had been raised British, and after almost a month in London he had fallen back into her habit of making tea whenever he didn’t know what else to do. It had always been her solution to minor problems. Small injury? Tea. Mild trauma? Tea. Bad day at school? Tea. He couldn’t be entirely sure how much of that was her actual concern, and how much was just instinct, but it had left Neil associating brewing a pot with comfort. If someone was upset, he tended to fix drinks, it was just routine at this point. He still had a few packages of tea from London, what his mother had always called “the good stuff,” which he used a bag of to make a pot of black tea. He only used one bag, since if Andrew was coming over he’d probably want his weaker, and with most of the sugar packets Matt hoarded above the sink, carefully hidden from Kevin’s prying eyes.

He never got a text back, just two loud knocks on his door several minutes later.

Neil opened the door.

“Tea?” He offered.

Andrew just raised his eyebrows, shutting the door as he entered.

Neil sighed. “What do you want first, a full explanation or the scars?”

Andrew’s head quirked to the side. “Scars. I heard everything you told the team from Kevin earlier.”

“What I tell the team isn’t necessarily what I’m willing to share with you.”

Andrew waved him off. “Later.”

Neil fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “And you’re not...angry?”

Andrew gave him a flat look. “You’re a self-sacrificial idiot. Nothing he had to say surprised me. And, after this, we’ll be even. I gave you Kevin in exchange for letting you bargain for him. The scars were for trading about me.”

Neil nodded, swallowing hard. He grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling it over his head. He tossed it onto the back of the couch, and crossed his arms, pointedly avoiding looking down at his chest or over at Andrew.

Andrew just tapped Neil’s arms, making him drop them at his sides. His face didn’t change as he circled Neil. He looked up at his face, raising his eyebrows until Neil nodded, letting him run his fingers over the road burn on Neil’s arm, the bullet wound on his back, the iron burn on his shoulder. For each one Andrew touched, Neil gave an explanation in short, clipped sentences. When his voice shook or broke Andrew didn’t react, just waited patiently for him to continue, seeming generally unphased.

He stopped and looked up.

“Your father?”

“Dead.”

Andrew nodded. He grabbed Neil’s t-shirt from the back of the couch and tossed it back at him. 

“Get dressed, roadrunner. Your issues are showing.”

Neil snorted lightly, shrugging on his shirt as he watched Andrew leave, swinging the door shut behind him.

__________

It was two days later when Neil finally got a text from Andrew. He was just getting out of the shower after his afternoon run. It was getting colder and he was taking advantage of any sun he could get, so he kept moving his jogs later in the morning until finally, they were just happening in the afternoon, the only time he got any benefit of warmth from the sun.

Neil was rubbing at his still-dripping hair when he got the message. It just said “roof.”

He pulled on his warmest pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and the coat Nicky had gotten him for Christmas, shoving his phone into the pocket. He took the stairs two at a time on his way up to the rooftop door, from where he could just see Andrew’s back as he sat, legs crossed, a few feet from the edge of the roof.

He made sure to scuff his shoes a bit on his way over so that Andrew knew he was coming, not that it seemed to make him any more reactive to Neil’s presence. He was smoking the last of a cigarette as Neil sat down next to him, giving him a few inches of space between their thighs.

Neil glanced over, no longer too stubborn to break the silence first. “How was it?”

“Long. Uneventful.”

Neil knew that meant more than Andrew let on. Obviously it hadn’t been easy, but at least there wasn’t anything unexpected that went wrong. He only really trusted Stuart’s connections as far as he could throw them, so hearing it from Andrew himself eased something in Neil that he hadn’t realized was coiled tightly in his chest.

It was then that Neil noticed they were both wearing the same jacket. He smirked.

“I see Nicky gave you your present. My theory is he bought them for you and Aaron, but Aaron said no.”

“And the different sizes?”

Neil shrugged. “Aaron doesn’t have your arms.”

Something twitched by Andrew’s forehead.

“Anyways, I guess it doesn’t really matter. We just won’t wear them at the same time.”

Andrew snorted. “Leaving you with what other clothing?”

Neil just shook his head. “I’ll just steal Matt’s. It’s what I do anyway when I forget to do the laundry.”

Andrew hummed low in his throat. He stubbed out his cigarette, turning to fully face Neil. He held up his hand by Neil’s head, waiting for a nod before reaching up to touch his newly clipped hair. 

“New dye?”

“No dye actually. Kevin decided that it’s time for me to have less issues. Pretty rich coming from him.”

“I’d say he’s right but it might go to his head.”

Neil laughed. “Probably. Careful, we wouldn’t want that head of his to explode.”

“Wouldn’t we?”

“I want to make a new deal.”

That made Andrew pause. He blinked before turning to look at Neil.

“What kind of deal?”

“I’ll let you watch my back again if you let me watch yours.”

Andrew scoffed. “How am I supposed to protect you if you’re putting yourself in danger for me?”

“I’m not saying we sacrifice ourselves for each other or anything, just...mutual protection. Neither of us are in danger anymore, or at least we shouldn’t be. But I don’t think for a moment that either of us is going to be okay with leaving ourselves completely exposed. This can be an...adjustment period,” Neil added thoughtfully.

Andrew gave him a long, hard look. Finally, he sighed through his nose and nodded. “Fine.”

Neil smiled, looking out at the sunset over campus. He gazed at the sprawling buildings, at the court in the distance, for a few minutes before finally whispering softly, “I missed you.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. It wasn’t until he felt light fingers on the side of his jaw, turning his head, that he realized Andrew was looking right at him.

“Neil. Yes or no?”

He’d brought their faces infinitesimally closer, and even that small change of distance set Neil’s heart racing. He bit the corner of his lip, finally meeting Andrew’s eyes.

“Yes.”

Neil remembered what Nicky had said before they picked up Andrew, about how he was worried that Andrew would come back without any motivation, that he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything or keep up with classes and practice without the manic energy the pills gave him. If he’d been there, Neil would’ve told him right then that he was wrong. Andrew kissed him like he was the only other person in the world, like he had nothing else to do and nothing else existed except for his hands in Neil’s hair. 

Neil felt his fingers twitch, and he readjusted to sit on his hands so he didn’t reach out. Andrew pulled back, resting his forehead against Neil’s. He slowly reached out, lightly touching Neil’s wrists and placing his hands against his jaw. He leaned back in, and Neil was consumed once again by the feel of Andrew’s lips on his. He slowly rubbed a thumb against Andrew’s jaw, reaching down to stroke the side of his neck lightly. Neil started to pull back when he felt Andrew’s breath catch, until he grabbed Neil’s hands, keeping them where they were before and winding his own hands around the back of Neil’s scalp, rubbing at the freshly buzzed hair on his neck.

It could’ve been hours later when they finally broke apart, or days. Time didn’t really feel real just yet, and he could tell that the light from the sunset had definitely changed.

Neil grinned. “You like me.”

“I hate you.”

“Same difference. Now I know Aaron’s going to kill me.”

Andrew looked away. “He doesn’t have any reason to. I broke off our deal.”

Neil gaped at him. “Why? What happened?”

“Nothing. Nothing happened.”

It took Neil a minute to remember their conversation earlier that year. He’d told Andrew he’d always been and always would be nothing. The unspoken truth that Andrew was sharing with him hit him in the chest like a blow. You. You happened.

He must’ve had a stupid expression on his face because Andrew pushed him away.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Neil smiled back.

“Doesn’t matter. When you think too hard I can hear gears turning up there.”

Andrew turned back to the skyline, pulling another cigarette out of the pack. Neil saw it as the dismissal it was and started to stand up.

“See you inside,” he called softly.

And as he walked down the stairs to his dorm, to his family, Neil saw his future in front of him. As he closed the door behind him, he knew he’d be there to see it, and for the first time in his life, that thought excited him.

**Author's Note:**

> Couple of final notes:
> 
> -Jean is fine, he chooses to stay with the Ravens and take over from Riko when he finds out from Renee what’s going on, but this was getting kinda long so I didn’t add that.  
> -Yes, Andrew did absolutely freak out when he got that text from Neil, no matter what Neil thought.  
> -No, nothing bad happened at rehab for Andrew in this AU, because I’m soft and I wanted to make things easier for him.  
> -The Renison is subtle, but there if you squint since I love my lesbians.  
> -I’m suuuuper soft for Matt if you can’t tell already, so there's that.  
> -Aaron is actually super relatable in this even though he's in there for like 0.2 seconds.
> 
> And that's about it. My tumblr is back2beesness, I'd love to chat or take request or whatever, so come say hi!


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